Cape Verde wants to achieve universal access to electricity by 2028

O Government of Cape Verde wants the entire population of the country to have access to electricity by 2028, announced today the Minister of Special Projects Coordination and Access to Funds.

“ We want to achieve universal access to electricity by 2028, linking the households not yet served and regulating clandestine links,” said José Carlos Moniz in an energy panel at the 2nd Investment Forum in Lusófona Africa on the island of Sal.

That is, the country has a coverage of 97% and hopes, however, to complete the 3% missing.

The goal is set in the National Compact, in the context of Mission 300 (M 300) involving partnerships structured by the African Development Bank (BAD) and the International Financial Corporation (IFC) to expand access to electricity on the African continent.

With the support of the two financial institutions, 35 countries have already defined their compacts with a strategy to expand electricity networks, based on public policy reforms and mobilizing public, private and development support institutions.

Cape Verde plans to reach 70% of renewable energy by 2031 and 100% by 2040, estimated to require 520 million dollars of investment (up to 2031), including 295 million private capital.

Guinea-Bissau also presented its compact, at a time when electricity reaches 40% of the population and where there are still basic health and education services without energy.

The document presented today points to universal access in 2030, if the ideal scenario that requires 700 million dollars of investment is achieved, of which 280 million private capital.

National compacts help investors understand each country’s goals and work “based on this ambition,” Lusa Pedro Coutinho, founder and executive director of Source Energy dedicated to renewable energy projects.

The company is studying the markets of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau and considers the technical assistance of IFC and BAD important because it allows “participating in anything that has already been thought, which has already been developed. It helps greatly to minimize project development time.”.

For developing countries, “not being dependent on oil is very important,” he said.

Natural resources such as sun or wind do not need to be transported, they are not subject to increased oil prices or logistical corridors, and with technological developments, “they can be compensated with batteries,” Pedro Coutinho added.

“I think independence” in relation to logistics chains and oil producers “is a relevant part for the future of these countries,” he said.

The Lusófona Africa Investment Forum that started on Monday and ends today, on Sal Island, is promoted by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group dedicated to the private sector.

According to updated IFC figures, in the last five years the institution has mobilised around 1.2 billion dollars (about EUR 1 billion) in 10 projects in Portuguese-speaking African countries.